Belgian family policy from a comparative perspective: What works and what is missing
The aim of this article is to describe Belgian family policy in comparison with the policy of other countries in the so-called conservative welfare state regime group, namely, France, Germany and the Netherlands, and with the policy of one country with a social-democratic model, Sweden. On the basis of previous literature, we also aim to identify strengths and weaknesses according to two criteria: efficacy in promoting fertility and gender equity. Belgian family policy presents several strengths. Its family allowances and birth premiums are among the most generous. Enrolment rates for children... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | workingPaper |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2021 |
Schlagwörter: | family policies / fertility / gender equity / Belgium / conservative welfare state regime |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26964899 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/245814 |
The aim of this article is to describe Belgian family policy in comparison with the policy of other countries in the so-called conservative welfare state regime group, namely, France, Germany and the Netherlands, and with the policy of one country with a social-democratic model, Sweden. On the basis of previous literature, we also aim to identify strengths and weaknesses according to two criteria: efficacy in promoting fertility and gender equity. Belgian family policy presents several strengths. Its family allowances and birth premiums are among the most generous. Enrolment rates for children under three years old are among the highest. Recent findings have shown a positive association between these features of Belgian policy and couples’ fertility. However, other aspects of Belgian policy are more critical for gender equity. They regard the nature of public spending on families, the duration of maternity leave, the remuneration of parental leave, the lack of radical reforms to support fathers’ involvement, and the sub-national disparities in some family policy measures.